


Thoughtful Gifts

by gutterflower



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Fluff, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-12
Updated: 2016-02-14
Packaged: 2018-05-20 00:31:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5986279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gutterflower/pseuds/gutterflower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Valentine's Day in the Commonwealth and Abby has made it her goal to give gifts to all of her loved ones!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Gift for Love

**Author's Note:**

> ((well, this was originally a one-shot for Mercy and Avery, but it ended up expanding into something a little larger, so please forgive the mess of edits and enjoy the expanded story!))

Most people waited until Christmas time to put together thoughtful gifts for their friends and family.  Abby, however, had always viewed Christmas and similar winter traditions as more of an event for families to spend time together.  Sure, there were presents, but the real spirit of the holiday season was the dinners and gatherings.  

Valentine's day, on the other hand, was a little different to her. As a child, she usually didn't get much in the way of the silly pieces of paper that the kids stuffed in each other's home-made boxes at school. It didn't matter if she had brought a valentine for every single person - she always was shorted when it came to receiving anything in return. It was around that time that she decided to make the holiday mean more to her. Friends who actually seemed to care about her were the only ones worth worrying about.

Sure, she had the heart-shaped papers for everyone - she hated the idea of someone feeling left out in the same way she did - but for those special individuals? She wanted to do much more than just that. She made a point to go out of her way, finding any little thoughtful gift for each friend. If it was something that most would present to someone at Christmas, she usually saved it for the extra couple of months. It made it more special, in a way - something unexpected to give those she truly loved. 

This year was the first since coming out of Vault 111 that she would have the time, resources, and relationships to put together such a thing. The holiday had changed a bit since the pre-war days. The focus was still on romance, but there wasn't as much commercialism involved now - something that was more of a relief. Unfortunately, it also meant that not many people still celebrated it. She at least knew of a few people in the Slog who had plans for the day, or were at least aware of the holiday's existence. Even if nobody had anticipated on giving her something, she found it worthwhile just to see the expressions on the faces of those she cherished.

The day wasn't just about romantic or sexual love to her. Love in all forms were special to her, and she certainly had an ever growing list of people close to her heart. Those she considered friends or adopted family? She had waited for months to give them gifts that symbolized just how much they meant to her.

She kept her presents tucked away in her satchel, being careful not to drop it as she approached the Slog. One particular present was carried outside of her bag - a small box, carefully wrapped with ribbons and foil. It was nowhere close to the pretty containers that could be found in stores during the pre-war days, but it was the best she could manage to piece together with the materials she had available.

Unlike the other gifts she toted with her, this one wasn't for her to give directly to its intended recipient. Over the past several months, she had watched Mercy and Avery interact, secretly finding them to be adorable together. How could something so obvious to her and others manage to elude the two who were specifically involved? Her mother had always been the nosy one to set people up. Perhaps the apple hadn’t fallen far from the tree. All Abby truly wanted was to see her friends happy. Hell, they were even more than friends to her now - this was her _family_. Even if it took effort on her part, she had nothing better to do these days. This was important to her, and if it could make those two smile? It would be more than worth it.

She had scrounged through the Commonwealth, looking everywhere for the right ingredients. Neal had given her a list of what was needed. Sure, there were some post-war substitutes that she could add, but she wanted to get as close to the real deal as possible. Vanilla, nuts, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cocoa, bourbon, and some corn syrup… those were at least the base ingredients. There was far more to it than just that, but Neal said he could work with it if Abby could get her hands on at least that much. There were a few things she could find that could be made into those ingredients as well - something that she took full advantage of.

She didn’t truly know if chocolate bourbon candies were really something Mercy would like, but he had mentioned missing chocolate before, and he liked bourbon, so the assumption at least had substance behind it. If nothing else, he would at least be aware of just how hard it was to find what was required to make the stuff in this day and age. It took Abby months to find everything, searching countless houses and buildings. She also checked out every trader she came across, lucking out in a few instances. The effort also gave her more ideas and material for additional gifts, though nothing turned out to be quite as complex as the chocolate liquor.

After Neal had finished a batch, she eagerly tried one. That had been a mistake. It was taking all of her willpower not to devour the rest of them as she made her way down to the Slog to deliver the goods. Fortunately, she had at least wrapped everything pretty securely - she would have to go through the effort of destroying her decorated box to get to them, not to mention the guilt of having ruined a gift.

Avery stood outside, giving his radstag, Fitz, a good brushing while he hummed an old tune. His dog, Buck, was lying down nearby, soaking up a sun spot. Upon seeing Abby, the hound got up, tail wagging as he bounded over to greet her, jumping up in excitement.

“Whoa - down, boy - these are baaaad for doggies!” Abby giggled, holding the box out of reach. Avery whistled, getting Buck’s attention and causing him to back off, settling down near his master’s feet. The tall cowboy ghoul gave her a goofy smile, tipping his hat in greeting.

“Abby.”

Her greeting was a little more personal as she glomped him into a hug, being cautious not to drop the box of goodies and shouldering her satchel to the side. Avery hugged back, not seeming too bothered by it. Even Mercy was coming around these days and not acting so tense at Abby’s affectionate personality. She pulled out of the hug, holding up the box so he could see.

“I got something for you!” she proclaimed.

“For me?” Avery asked, taking the box and examining it.

“Well… not really for _you_ ,” she confessed, blushing brightly. "It’s… um… it’s for Mercy… but I think it would mean a lot more to him if you… well, if you gave it to him?“

Avery’s eyes widened. He looked down at the short girl, expression uncertain.

"Are… are you sure…?!” he asked. Abby grinned, nodding.

“Trust me, he’ll love it!” she re-assured him. Truthfully, she wasn’t entirely sure if Mercy would enjoy the chocolates themselves, but she was pretty confident that he would at least appreciate the sentiment that Avery got him a gift that required effort. She certainly wasn’t going to tell anyone that she brought them. Neal would probably fuss over the fact that he couldn’t brag about making the delicacies, but he could just deal - he was back in Sanctuary, anyway.

“Oh… okay…” Avery hummed, looking back at the box. "Should…. should I give it to him now….?“

"Sure!” she encouraged him. She took the brush out of his other hand. "I’ll finished taking care of Fitz  - go surprise him!“

Avery looked hesitant at first but eventually nodded.

"Alright… thank you, Abby,” he said, smiling a little. She simply grinned in reply, gesturing toward Mercy’s clinic as she tried to rush him off. Avery took off, first at a slow pace, but eventually quickening his steps as he neared the door.

Abby couldn’t stop smiling. She turned to brush the radstag, now humming a little tune of her own. She couldn’t help but think about how proud her mother would have been.

After ensuring that Fitz was properly groomed, she ascended the stairs to the apartment complex that had been constructed on top of central building of the Slog. There was one room that was normally reserved for renting out to guests. Abby stopped by the front desk, finding Holly lounging behind it, reading an old magazine. After ensuring that the room was available, she secured the key, paying Holly and giving her a Valentine's gift - a romance novel she had bought using book return tokens at the Boston Library. She received a kiss on the cheek for her efforts, a gesture that told her she had chosen the present well.

She retreated to the guest room, dumping the contents of her bag onto the bed and sorting through everything. She had a couple of additional gifts for Avery and Mercy - simpler ones that she planned to deliver in person. Those would have to wait, however. If her initial gift had been a success, they weren't coming out of the clinic for quite some time.

After ensuring everything was in proper order, she gathered up the gifts in her bag, taking off. This was going to be fun!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mercy belongs to [@vectober](http://vectober.tumblr.com)  
> Avery belongs to [@railroad-blues](http://railroad-blues.tumblr.com)


	2. Cory, Trish, and Toby

The first stop was Cory's apartment. Cory was rather hard to shop for, but there were a few things Abby had found while scavenging that she thought her friend might perhaps enjoy.

A bottle of pre-war liquor - one of the more expensive brands - had been uncovered in the vault of one building she had cleared out. She didn't know too much about alcohol herself, but Neal had informed her that it was one of those bottles that brought a six-figure price tag back in the day. If the world hadn't been blown to bits, inflation would have caused the drink to carry a small fortune by now.  She didn't know if it was truly worth anything in this world, of course, since the Wasteland had different priorities, but still... the fact that Neal had tried to steal it from her bag told her that it was worth giving as a gift.

On top of that, she had found a teddy bear in near perfect condition. It was one of the old Valentine's Day bears that had a little heart sewn onto its front. The doll had been covered in dust, but otherwise was in perfect shape. After some gentle washing, it looked almost as good as new. Abby had also gotten some paper together to make a hand-made card for Cory. It wasn't anything special, really - just some glitter, glue, and a little note telling Cory what an amazing friend she was.

Unfortunately, nobody answered the door when Abby knocked. She waited around, no sign of anyone inside.

"Oh, sorry, Cory said she was going out of town for a bit," Holly noted as she passed down the hallway. Abby sighed, frowning as she looked down at the gifts.

"Any way I can convince you to open the door to let me just put them inside for her?" she wondered. Holly smiled, nodding.

"If anyone asks - you picked the lock yourself," she winked, taking out a large keychain and cycling through until she got to a key marked with the appropriate apartment number.  

Abby quickly slipped inside, propping everything up on a table. She didn't linger for long, exiting the apartment and letting Holly lock it back in place. Well, at least maybe she could stop by some other time and see if Cory liked everything? On to the next person on her list - Toby.  

She headed outside, looking around to see if she could spot him. Instead, she noticed someone else on her gift list sitting on a bench nearby. Trish seemed to be busy sorting through a bag of keys. Abby approached, placing a hat on top of the girl's head.

"Wha-?" Trish blinked, looking up in confusion. Abby waved cheerfully at her.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" she greeted. Trish pulled the hat off, looking at it. It was a cap featuring a cartoon Zeta on the front. The girl seemed to have a thing about aliens on her attire, so Abby had been thrilled when she came across the item at an abandoned novelty shop.

"Oh my gosh, it's perfect!" the small ghoul girl exclaimed, the sound of the keys rattling against each other as she bounced excitedly on the bench.

"Also heard you were collecting those," Abby noted, gesturing to the keys. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a simple pair of house keys and some old car keys. "These don't go to anything anymore, but they were mine from pre-war, so thought maybe they'd go well in your collection."

Trish examined the trinkets for a moment before hugging Abby tightly around the waist.

"They're perfect! Thank you so much!" she giggled. "But... I didn't get you anything...?"

"You gave me hugs - those are good enough!" Abby explained to her. Trish grinned, hugging her again. Abby stooped over and hugged back.  She then straightened up, patting the girl on the head as she looked around. She spotted Toby sitting several feet away at a picnic table, not looking particularly happy. She knew that he lived on the second floor of Mercy's clinic, so it didn't take too much guessing to determine why he was brooding.

"I'll catch up with you later, sweetie," Abby told the girl. "I need to talk to Toby for a bit."

"Okay!" Trish replied vigorously, going back to her sorting.

Abby strolled over to the pinic table, plopping down next to Toby and smiling sympathetically.

"Too noisy at home?" she asked. Toby's eyes widened a little.

"How did you-?"

"Trust me - best you not even ask," she noted. She took a few comics and a pack of chewing gum out of her bag, passing them along. "Happy Valentine's Day!" she proclaimed in a cheerful tone. The boy's face lit up as he seemingly forgot about the commotion going on back at the clinic.

"Astoundingly Awesome Tales!" he gasped, flipping through the comics. "And they still have all their pages, too! Awww, Freckles, you shouldn't have...!"

She soon found herself caught in a tight hug. She giggled, hugging him back. Toby was such a sweetheart, and his hugs were the best.

"I hope they're not issues you already have," she noted. Toby shook his head.

"Nope! All new for me! I mean... I think I read some of them back in the pre-war days? But I've kinda slept since then," he grinned.

"I'm so glad!" she replied. Toby paused, frowning.

"But.... I didn't get you anything..." he realized. Abby shook her head.

"You gave me hugs - that's more than enough," she pointed out. Toby's face lit up as he hugged Abby again. Yup - whether or not they knew it, Abby had totally decided that Toby and Trish were her adopted children. She knew she wasn't the only one to feel that way about them, but at least it meant they weren't lacking when it came to people who cared. She was more than happy to know she could be a part of that crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cory and Toby belong to [@vectober](http://vectober.tumblr.com)  
> Trish belongs to [@spacialkiwi](http://spacialkiwi.tumblr.com)


	3. Molly, Maul, and Anthony

Abby went for a walk after bidding Toby goodbye. Next on her list was Maul. She headed in the direction of the guard tower, figuring that would be the best place to check for her. Along the way, she was met a sight that she hadn't expected. Molly stood on the side of the road, unloading supplies while her Brahman rested. Abby had been previously uncertain as to how she would track the traveling trader down, so finding her here of all places certainly made her feel as though luck was on her side.

"Molly!" she exclaimed, getting her attention before running up and pulling her into a hug. The trader laughed, swinging her around as she hugged back. Abby held on tightly, bursting out with giggles at the response. To say her mood was now improved was an understatement.

"Good to see ya!" Molly greeted, finally putting her back down.

"Same! In fact, it's really awesome because I have something just for you!" Abby replied, opening her bag.

"Something to sell?" Molly wondered. Abby shook her head.

"No, it's for Valentine's Day, silly!" she replied, taking out some bottles that were carefully wrapped in parchment. She handed one over, letting Molly peel back the paper and take a look.

".... holy shit...!" she exclaimed, holding the bottle of root bear up to get a better look at it. "You serious?! Where the hell-?!"

"Found a stash down in a basement in Concord," Abby grinned. "Sadly, most of the bottles were already smashed to bits, but a few survived!"

Abby had to cling to her bag to prevent from dropping it as the woman suddenly wrapped her arms around her, hugging her so tightly that she lifted Abby off of the ground.

"AHHHHHH!" Molly screamed, "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!"

Abby had expected a positive reaction, but she hadn't been quite prepared for this sort of response. She merely giggled in reply, attempting to breath through the crushing hug.

Molly finally let go, setting Abby's feet back on the ground.

"Shit - I didn't get ya anything!" Molly frowned. Abby shook her head, the biggest grin across her face.

"Trust me," she replied, "you totally did."

 

\----

 

Abby continued to move along, turning her attention back toward the guard tower. The structure had initially been used for the purpose of sunbathing, but it was still quite sturdy and was perfect for the task of giving the Slog's guards a birds-eye view of the area.

Sure enough, she easily spotted Maul perched on top of the structure, binoculars in hand. Next to her was another familiar face. Abby grinned, glad to know that she wouldn't have to travel too far out of the way to give Anthony his gift. She didn't see any signs of Alaelys, but that didn't mean much - if she was at the Slog, she was most likely sitting inside somewhere.

"Hey, guys!" Abby shouted up to them, waving. They waved back, gesturing for her to come join them. While heights didn't necessarily frighten Abby, she did feel a little uneasy climbing up tall structures - especially ones as old as the guard tower. She took her time, carefully watching her footing as she made her way to the top.

"I've got stuff for you guys!" she announced, carefully keeping a hand on the guard rail as she dug through her bag.

"What's the occasion?" Maul wondered.

"Valentine's Day, of course!" she chimed. Maul cleared her throat, seeming a little uncertain.

"I... kinda forgot that was a thing some people observed," she admitted. Abby shrugged.

"Not a problem - I just wanted to give everyone something," she explained. She handed a small glass dolphin to Maul, rummaging back through her bag to pull out a wrapped package for Anthony. Inside the box were a variety of tools, all of them nicely polished to make them appear new.

Maul studied the figurine, looking surprised. "It's... cute..." she murmured, smiling a little.

"It was mine back in the pre-war days," Abby explained. "Dogmeat dug it up not too long ago. Surprised as hell that it survived all these years," she beamed.

"I didn't get you anything?" Maul worried. Abby shook her head.

"Like I said - I just wanted to give my friends something today," she giggled. "I mean, if you wanna give me something, I'm always up to hugs!"

Maul blinked, smiling awkwardly as she reached out, giving Abby a pat on the back and a firm handshake.

"Thanks! It's really amazing!" she told her. Well, Abby had tried.

"I also have a couple of books for Alaelys if she's around?" she noted to Anthony, who was busy examining the tools.

"Wow..." he muttered before registering the question. "Uh... yeah!" he looked up, smiling, "She's actually back in Sanctuary, but I can deliver it for her?"

"Sounds fair," Abby grinned, handing him the books. She waited for a moment before deciding that the personal space needed to go, placing her bag down on the platform and reaching out, pulling them both to her in half-hugs, an arm around each.

Maul was a little stiff, but patted back, seeming awkward about it. Unlike Mercy's hug that sometimes had a vibe of touchiness to it, Maul's had more of a 'Am I doing this properly?' feel to it. Anthony, on the other hand, hugged back, being much more relaxed about it.

Now came the hard part... getting back down without experiencing vertigo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maul belongs to [@railroad-blues](http://railroad-blues.tumblr.com)  
> Anthony belongs to [@anticsofanthony](http://anticsofanthony.tumblr.com)


	4. Avery and Mercy

After finally arriving back on the ground, Abby noticed that Avery was outside, whistling happily as he got water for Fitz. She took the opportunity to run over to him, trying not to seem _overly_  enthusiastic.

"Did it go well?" she asked. Avery paused long enough to give her a grin that said it all. She let out a squeal of excitement, jumping up and hugging him. He laughed, hugging back.

"I... uh... thankyou," he told her, seeming genuinely happy. Abby pulled out of the hug, quickly retrieving the goodies inside of her bag.

"I got you something as well! This one just for ya!" she explained. She handed over a box of cigars and a bottle of fine whiskey. "I know it's not much, but I figured I could be forgiven since I got the chocolates as well," she giggled.

Avery's eyes widened, seeming surprised that there were more gifts. He held up his pointer finger, signaling for Abby to stay put as he rushed over to the bar. A few minutes later, he returned, two glasses in hand.

"This stuff's too good to drink alone," he explained, settling down with his back against the outside wall, pouring the whiskey into the glasses.

Truth be told, Abby had never had whiskey that she could recall. It always smelled horrible and it seemed like the sort of thing she would most likely not enjoy. But here Avery was - being a sweetheart and sharing his gift. She couldn't fuck this up. She forced a smile, accepting the glass and staring at it. The aroma was already making her head hurt.  This was going to be tough. She held her breath, expecting the worst as she gulped down the brown liquid. She began to cough, trying not to spit out what she had just consumed, but the sensation burning her throat.

"You okay?" Avery asked. Abby nodded unconvincingly, still coughing and gasping for air. Who drank this stuff willingly? Well, the answer was obviously Avery, but _still_...

"I'm good...!" she choked out. The cowboy smiled sympathetically.

"Well, I got some moonshine if you'd prefer that instead," he offered her. Abby's eyes widened.

"I'd love to, but I really should give Mercy his gift!" she quickly informed him, getting up before she risked having to chase the horrible taste with more disgusting liquid. Next year, she would get Avery a six pack of Nuka Cola instead.

She entered the clinic, finding Mercy standing behind the counter, humming cheerfully as he flipped through some paperwork. She had never seen him in such a pleasant mood.

"Freckles!" he greeted, looking rather happy. "Didn't know you were in town!"

"Yeah, got here this morning, actually," she grinned, walking over and hugging him. He hugged back without hesitation - a _very_ good sign.

"I actually got you something," she told him as she pulled out of the hug. Her almost-empty bag had a few more items left inside of it. She pulled out a box of cigars - similar to what she had given to Avery - handing it over to the doctor. A wrapped bottle of bourbon accompanied it. She silently prayed that he didn't decide to be as generous with the bourbon as Avery had been with the whisky.

Mercy looked at the items in surprise. "Really?" he asked, shaking his head and smiling. "You shouldn't have!"

"Well, it's Valentine's Day, so I wanted to do something for you," she explained.

"Is it?" he hummed. "I... hadn't realized..." He scratched behind his neck, still looking overly-jovial, but also a touch embarrassed. He shook his head and laughed. "Well, thankyou! Um... wait here!"

He retreated down the hallway towards his private room, returning a moment later with the box Abby had placed the chocolates in.

"Try one!" he insisted. Abby tried to look surprised, though she couldn't curve her eagerness to eat another one of the delightful chocolates.

"Oh wow, these are amazing!" she exclaimed, feigning ignorance. "Wow, whoever gave these to you must have gone through a lot of effort!"

"I didn't say anyone gave them to me," Mercy pointed out with an amused smirk. Abby swallowed the remainder of the chocolate, trying to look more interested in the poster hanging in the lobby.

"Huh, I thought you had... well, either way - that's really good stuff!" she hummed, doing a horrible job of acting. Mercy played along well enough, not bringing up what suspicions he clearly had as he simply patted her on the head, still smiling brightly.

"Well, thankyou for the gifts, Freckles. You really out-did yourself."

Abby blushed, hugging him again. Seeing Mercy this happy truly made the effort worthwhile. She now had the task in figuring out how to top the gift for next year.

After chatting for a little while, she headed out. She still had gifts for a few other people that she needed to track down - Zephyr and Pyllie Jo - but she would have to do some traveling to deliver those gifts. They wouldn't be exactly on time, but it was still important, all the same.

She came across Avery on her way back to her room. He was passed out where she had left him earlier, an empty bottle of whisky in hand. Abby shook her head, retracing her steps and popping back into the clinic long enough to tell Mercy that he might want to get the cowboy a blanket before it got too cold outside. She secretly hoped that the two ended up spending even more time together as a result of the whisky - that would mean two of her gifts brought them closer to each other. After ensuring that Mercy would take care of the cowboy, she made her way up the stairs that led to the apartments.

At first she felt slightly alarmed by the fact that her door was unlocked. Upon opening it, she saw a familiar figure stretched out on her bed, wearing nothing but an American flag speedo and his usual tricorn hat.

"I'm... not going to ask where you got that, John" she laughed. "I just wanna know  _why_?"

"Oh, I think you know," Hancock grinned, waggling his brow. Abby blushed, closing the door. The sound of giggling could be heard from where Holly sat in the lobby. She simply smiled, turning to the next page in the novel she was reading. Today was a certainly a good day for having people who cared about each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mercy belongs to [@vectober](http://vectober.tumblr.com)  
> Avery belongs to [@railroad-blues](http://railroad-blues.tumblr.com)


End file.
